


Forelsket

by blubu



Category: Hollow Knight (Video Game)
Genre: Other, abyss kinda sucks, ghost is oblivious tho, i love the siblings they deserved better okay, in quirrel's eyes at least, quirrel's kinda into ghost, the abyss - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-27
Updated: 2019-01-27
Packaged: 2019-10-17 11:56:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17559935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blubu/pseuds/blubu
Summary: Ghost's home is not what Quirrel imagined it to be, but he never misses a chance to learn something new about his little friend.





	Forelsket

**Author's Note:**

> stellahope is my soulmate dont ask for context

Sitting in the Teacher’s Archives, he could still faintly hear the bubbling and electric cackling of the rest of the volatile Fog Canyon just outside. The familiar sounds sparked a sense of familiarity in his mind, yet he still could not recall the memories it stemmed from. How long ago had he left this place? How long was he here?

 

Quirrel still could not answer these questions. Leaving Hallownest had stolen his memories from him, though he was thankful for the protection granted by Monomon’s mask that he had still retained his mind itself. He had seen many of those bugs outside the blessings of the Kingdom; creatures uninfected however still lacking thoughts and empathy.

 

Now that his teacher had been freed from the cages of being a Seal in the only way that was possible, he had no purpose left in Hallownest. So, why did he stay?

 

He had a certain short but charming friend to thank for that.

 

Quirrel turned his head to the smaller bug. They simply sat there beside him, ever unmoving. He had always wondered what was inside their head, what thoughts they harbored and what goals fueled their will. Monomon had called him back to the Kingdom to help them, but why? Why had she allowed herself to be cut down by them?

 

He was broken out of his thoughts by the blank shell now facing him, making him aware of his staring. He turned his head back away in embarrassment.

 

“Pardon me, my friend.” He heard himself chuckle. “I simply found myself lost in my own thoughts. It is not an uncommon occurrence, nowadays.”

 

The silent bug had turned their head back as well, seemingly satisfied with his answer. Their movements always seemed so fluid to him; did they harbor even a single flaw?

 

Quirrel decided to keep the one-sided conversation going on a bit longer, resting a gentle claw on the smaller bug’s head. “I believe my purpose for being called back to this place has been fulfilled, however, I find myself not wanting to leave. Perhaps some part of me recognizes this place as home?” He sighed, idly scratching at their shell. “That part of me is much too glad to be back.”

 

He felt the smaller bug nod against his hand. Startled, he turned back to gaze at them.

 

“What is it, friend? Is this Kingdom your home as well?”

 

His friend seemed to think it over for a few silent moments before shaking their head. Quirrel found himself growing curious.

 

“Do.. you have a home?”

 

They had to think that over as well. A nod.

 

“May I see it?”

 

The smaller bug stayed still much longer this time. The scholar quickly began to grow nervous, about to say they didn’t  _ have  _ to show him, until--

 

_ ‘QuirrelhomeGhost?’ _

 

He jumped as the cryptic words that suddenly invaded his mind, reminding him of the violent will and words the Light had attempted on many accounts to force into his brain. Yet even as he quickly looked all around the small room with nothing but a tank and two ‘normal’ bugs, he knew exactly where the invasive words had come from.

 

Or  _ who,  _ to be more exact.

 

He turned to his friend, heart hammering against his poor chest. “I--that was you, wasn’t it?”

 

The silent bug tilted their head. 

_ ‘GhostscaredQuirrel?’ _

 

Quirrel shivered at the words that sounded like they were both all around him and sprouting from deep inside his own mind. Still, he took a deep breath in an attempt to reassure his friend.

 

“No, no..” He settled down, “I-I am quite alright. I admit you did give me a bit of a spook there..” He laughed nervously, as a recurring word in the other’s ‘speech’ finally struck him. “Ghost?”

 

They instantly seemed to perk up, paying full attention to him. 

 

“Is that your name?” He asked, beginning to further understand the small bug. They quickly nodded at the question, excitement almost rushing into their small body. It was nauseating for the scholar to say the very least, who was used to the silent bug being seemingly unable to express any sort of emotion.

 

“Ghost,” Quirrel muttered to himself, voice growing soft. “How strangely fitting.” He looked back at the bug who nodded in agreement.

 

_ ‘HornetcallGhost.’ _

 

The taller bug perked up at that. “Who’s Hornet? Are they the one who named you?”

 

A nod.

_ ‘Hornetsister.’ _

 

Quirrel found his intrigue only growing the more questions Ghost answered. He wished to know more about them, he realized, and he couldn’t decide whether that was because of his fondness growing for the small thing, or his ever-growing desire for knowledge. His friend was simply an anomaly in every way.

 

“So, you have siblings? I recall always wanting my own, however, I cannot remember having any if my limited memories are correct. How many do you have?”

 

Ghost seemed to simply grow silent again, and Quirrel thought he almost saw their shoulders begin to sag.

 

“Ah, perhaps you have forgotten?”

 

They shook their head. So if not that, why did they seem to not know the answer?

 

As the possibilities began filling his mind, he almost didn’t realize as Ghost began to stand on their short stubs. He finally perked up at this.

 

“Ah, leaving so soon?” He attempted to keep the disappointment out of his voice. They shook their head, grabbing his hand--Quirrel was startled by the cold, almost empty feeling he got when they touched him--and beginning to pull him up.

 

“I see. You would like me to come with you, I presume? To where might I ask?”

 

_ ‘GhosttakeQuirrelhome.’ _

 

Confusion seeped into the scholar for a few moments, just as their earlier conversation finally came back to him. “Oh, yes! Alright. Lead the way, dear.”

 

The wave of happiness Ghost emitted while leading Quirrel out completely made him forgot the title of endearment he had accidentally bestowed upon them.

  
  


The ride from Queen’s station wasn’t too long--as to be expected of all Stag rides--however, it seemed as if they had traveled almost halfway across the Kingdom and were only going further and further down. 

 

The two stepped onto the platform, Quirrel waving goodbye to the Stag who simply grunted in response. 

 

As they left the station, Quirrel immediately felt chills running down his shell. The air was thick down here, something oppressive pushing down on him from all sides. He chalked it up to simply being the pressure from being so far underground.

 

He followed after Ghost who continued walking through the dank air, seemingly unaffected--as expected if they truly lived down in this place.

 

He couldn’t help but stare at the white ruins of some sort of grand building as they walked by. A palace, he corrected himself, with knowledge pulled from an unknown source. 

 

Almost as if sensing Quirrel’s inner turmoil Ghost quickly grabbed his hand, slowly tugging him along behind them. Quirrel found that he really didn’t mind the cold his friend emitted.

 

They continued walking on through a couple more rooms before standing before a large opening. As Ghost stepped closer, Quirrel could  _ hear _ the tablet beside them speak.

 

_ Higher Beings, these words are for you alone. _

_ Our Pure Vessel has ascended. _

_ Beyond lies only the refuse and regret of its creation. _

_ We shall enter that place no longer. _

 

His eyes widened as he took in the words, however, he quickly put his attention back on his short friend as they walked through the opening. The only light that seemed to shine upon them was from the room Quirrel was still frozen in. He swallowed his fears and made his way to stand on the ledge beside Ghost, wondering what he had gotten himself into.

 

The first thing he noticed was the darkness. He could feel it swirling just outside the reaches of the light, not daring to get closer but yearning to tear him  _ apart. _

 

“A-ah,” He stuttered, glancing down at his much shorter friend. “Is this your home? It is quite, erm..” He trailed off, finding the pressure being forced down upon him cutting off his words.

 

Ghost looked up at him once again sensing his nerves. They grabbed his hand once more and leaned against him.

 

Despite the chill his friend emitted, the darkness somehow seemed less oppressive with them tucked against his shell.

 

_ ‘Quirrelscared?’ _

 

The words invaded his mind again, yet now they just seemed so... Timid. As if Ghost was ashamed of scaring him with their home. Those soft, shy words made him realize he was being unfair. He hadn’t even seen the rest of it. Perhaps this place wasn’t so scary after all if it was the origin of such a cute little bug.

 

So Quirrel only smiled and shook his head, leaning down to his friend’s height. The smaller bug began emitting those waves of happiness again, before letting go of his hand and jumping down into the darkness.

 

The larger bug, in a state of panic, peered over where his friend had disappeared to. He couldn’t even make out the white of their shell in the bleeding darkness. Where could they have gone?

 

“A-ah, friend? Ghost! Ghost, dear, where have you gone?” He called out, reaching into the darkness and feeling absolutely nothing. He only now began to think: how far did this place reach?

 

_ ‘Ghostsafe.’ _

 

Sprang his friend’s reply in his mind, the haunting voice somehow easing the tension that had filled his entire body. He breathed a sigh a relief.

 

_ ‘Quirrelsafe. Quirrelcome.’ _

 

Did they want him to  _ jump down there as well? _ No, no. Impossible. No way. Out of the question. Absurd.

 

Yet as he began feeling those waves of absolute  _ happiness _ emanating from his dear...

 

The next thing he knew, he had jumped. The  _ lovesick fool _ had jumped. 

 

But he was.. Fine?

 

He opened his eyes to find he had simply landed onto another platform. He turned himself all around, eyes finally adjusting to the darkness. He spotted the next platform and hopped to it, then the next, and the next...

 

Until he had landed next to his friend, finally at the bottom. He could now clearly see all around him, however, it was still quite dark.

 

The evidence supporting that being how long it took him to realize what  _ exactly _ he had been walking on.

 

With horror, he realized what was below him was most likely  _ corpses.  _ Not just any corpses, but they looked like Ghost. Each shell had a different set of horns, however, the relation was clear.

 

These were Ghost’s  _ siblings. _

 

“Dear..” He heard himself breathe out, Ghost stepping up to his side at the faint call. He looked down at his friend, suddenly understanding why they couldn’t tell him how many singlings they had.

 

Because they had  _ many. _

 

“These... They’re all...” He needed it confirmed, but how would he get those words out? How could he ask them about  _ this? _

 

Apparently, he wouldn’t need to.

 

_ ‘Siblingshere.’ _

 

Well, that answered that question. Now, how did he tell Ghost he wanted  _ to get out of there _ ?

 

_ ‘Siblingscome.’  _

 

Ghost called out, the scholar twisting around to see if he could find any of them  _ alive. _ He didn’t see any other living creature after a few moments and decided he should break the news to the little one that they were most likely all just--dead.

 

That is, until he  _ saw it _ . 

 

Black goop slowly rising from beyond the corpses before becoming its own shape, body forming and appearing almost like one of the corpses below it; if not for the inverse colors.

 

More began rising out of corpses and forming in front of his very eyes, seeming to get closer and closer as that feeling of suffocation began to push down upon him again, until he could feel the panic rise in his throat--

 

_ ‘Quirrelfriend!’ _

 

When had his little friend stepped in front of him? He couldn’t recall, however, all the eyes were now trained the smaller bug. Quirrel felt nervous for his dear even knowing they were all siblings.

 

The bodies of darkness stared at their sibling for what seemed almost like an hour to the poor scholar, a charm pinned to Ghost’s cloak almost glinting at their siblings in  _ warning. _ They stood down.

 

Some seemed to decide the fun was over and fell apart into those black blobs, returning underneath the corpses, while others dared to get closer to the larger bug. They moved slowly, black tendrils petting his head before the beings of darkness simply  _ curled  _ up against him. He didn’t know how to respond to the  _ affections  _ and simply stood there, Ghost watching in what seemed to be amusement. He felt flustered at the other’s stare.

 

Eventually, Ghost decided to save him from the gentle grasps of the siblings. They pulled him away, the gently cold grasp easing all his nerves in barely a millisecond. When they began to pull away he quickly grasped back onto the appendage, finding he didn’t want to lose the contact. Ghost turned to him in question.

 

“I am still a bit nervous,” The bug shakily chuckled. “May... I hold your hand just a bit longer?”

 

Ghost responded immediately, not only tightly clasping his hand back but moving to stand right against him.

 

_ ‘Ghostprotect!’ _

 

Quirrel chuckled fondly, leaning down to the smaller bug’s height and pressing a quick kiss to the top of their shell.

 

“I know you will, dear.”


End file.
